Youkai of the Well
by Tumbling Kitty
Summary: Rated for language. Piece together a hanyou's puzzel with pieces of love, regret, and mystery. Clear up the fog and solve the riddle before the end when all is revealed! R
1. Youkai From the Well

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anyone else, lordy…  
  
Youkai of the Well  
  
Kagome sighed and soaked up the rays of the bright sun of  
  
the Feudal Era she grew up in-the only sun she knew. She was   
  
taking a bath in a nearby pond, washing off the day's episodes of   
  
being the Priestess and protector of the legendary Shikon Jewel.   
  
In being that Priestess comes great responsibility, and that   
  
responsibility reflected better in her protector, Hojo, than in   
  
the bubbly Priestess herself. Hojo was made by Kagome to stand   
  
behind some dense shrubbery, not looking of course, while she took   
  
her bath.   
  
"Come on, Kagome, finish and get outta there. How am I supposed to   
  
know if you get snagged by some kind of demon or something?" Hojo   
  
whined from behind the brush. Kagome laughed and stepped up on the   
  
shore to put her cloths back on.  
  
"Okay, okay, whatever you say Hojo." She put her Kimono on and   
  
tied the waist. "Hey, Hojo, do you want to go pick wildflowers or   
  
something" she asked, stepping around the shrubbery and tying her   
  
long black hair back.   
  
"Sure, there's nothing else really to do, we've finished   
  
everything else."   
  
"Okay!" Kagome bubbled and skipped through the forest to an open   
  
plain where wildflowers grew more plentiful than the grass. This   
  
was her favorite spot, shown to her by her grandmother, Kikyou.   
  
Whom she remembered fondly in spite of the brutal murder that   
  
marked her end.  
  
"Pick a lot of red, Kaede likes red ones" Hojo suggested as he sat   
  
down on the edge of the trees.   
  
"Yeah, the ones we picked last week are kinda wilting and dying,   
  
she needs new ones" Kagome seriously set out on this serious task   
  
of concocting a new flower arrangement for her great aunt.  
  
"Haha! Those bastards can't catch me now!" Inuyasha ran into an   
  
old abandon shack as an attempt to escape the cops. Someone had   
  
seen his ears and claws and turned him in. He knew he shouldn't   
  
have come back. He belonged in the Feudal Era, with other demons;   
  
with Kikyou. He had been gone for a little over a week and thought   
  
that maybe now the stupid bitch had learned her lesson. He quickly   
  
changed into the pink kimono that he had left in the shack and   
  
threw his other clothes aside. Taking a deep breath, he jumped   
  
into the bone eater's well.  
  
"What the hell?" Inuyasha exclaimed as he emerged on the   
  
other side. "It smells different, and everything looks a little   
  
different. It looks like the ivy has grown way over the well and   
  
the rock is weathered, too. Hmmm…" He thought this over for a   
  
minute, but decided that enough was the same, because he smelled   
  
Kikyou. She smelled a little different, but hey, most people did   
  
after a week of no him! He thought narcissistically. He   
  
confidently strode towards the scent of the love of his life.  
  
"What the hell?" Kagome thought as she looked up from her   
  
flowers and saw a white haired youkai walking calmly towards her.   
  
She vaguely remembered him from somewhere, but where… "Oh my God"   
  
she gasped   
  
"What?" Hojo asked concernedly   
  
"MURDERER!!!!!!!" She yelled and quickly drew her arrow back to   
  
her shoulder and released…  
  
Inuyasha was too stunned to move. Kikyou had just pinned   
  
him to a tree! "What the fuck?" he spat. "Woman! You are really   
  
starting to get on my nerves!" He yelled, because that was all he   
  
was able to do, some kind of binding spell cast over the arrow   
  
held him tightly to the tree. He scowled as she walked over to him   
  
and smiled a cold, hateful smile.  
  
"So, why'd you come back, to kill me too? I'm not as weak as my   
  
mother or an old lady like my grandmother, who you hated so much   
  
just because she wouldn't give you the Jewel unless you were to   
  
become human. You should have taken the offer from a lady as kind   
  
as her, Gramps, cause I won't even give it to you then!" Her smile   
  
broadened as she twisted the arrow in Inuyasha's gut and his face   
  
twisted in pain.  
  
"Dammit, Kikyou! I didn't kill your grandma! I didn't even know   
  
her!"  
  
"I'm Kagome, dammit! And you're a murdering half-blooded youkai!"   
  
she screamed back and twisted the arrow more. "I hate you." she   
  
said as she stepped back a foot from the tree and took out another   
  
arrow. She pulled it back to her shoulder, pointing the arrow an   
  
inch from his forehead…  
  
"KAGOME!!!" Hojo yelled as he ran up with Kaede in tow. She jerked   
  
and missed his head entirely. A bird met its fate with a squeak as   
  
it fell out of the sky-Inuyasha sighed. Kagome cursed under her   
  
breath and turned to them, red faced. "Wha-at? I was about to kill   
  
him, c'mon…" Kouga appeared from the forest behind her and said,   
  
"Is anything the matter, Kagome?" she turned around and threw her   
  
arms around his neck.  
  
"Kouga, Inuyasha appeared out of nowhere and…he's so vile…I don't   
  
know how Grandmother Kikyou could've… he's too young, and I don't   
  
understand! But I hate him!" She recanted while hugging Kouga.  
  
"Well," Kouga looked at Inuyasha while Kagome stopped hugging him   
  
and crossed her arms across her chest "what do you have to say for   
  
yourself."  
  
"This is shit, where's Kikyou? I demand to speak to my fiancée!"   
  
Inuyasha said, eyes wild with confusion. Kaede gasped a little.   
  
She held up her hands for silence.   
  
"Inuyasha," He looked up at her "does ye remember me?"  
  
"Ye…oh my God, Kaede? Why are you so old? Why does this girl you   
  
call Kagome look like Kikyou and why the hell does she call me   
  
'Gramps'?" he demanded, though obviously in no position to demand   
  
anything.   
  
"I do not know, I could be asking ye the same questions." Kaede   
  
informed him. She looked at the others and said "Where's Hojo?"  
  
*Mwah* Thanks for reading! I love reviews and E-mails so R&R Please! Thanks! I'll write more because I love you.  
  
Love,  
  
Mumu 


	2. Ten Days

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha, though it would be nice if   
  
he was my man slave… Bwahahaha… Just kidding… Oh well, on with the   
  
fic!  
  
Ten days  
  
"Help!" Hojo yelled from somewhere above their heads. Everyone   
  
looked up. Kagome covered her mouth in disbelief.  
  
"So, Priestess, if you ever want to see your cousin again, listen   
  
to what I have to say." He cast an amused glance at Inuyasha and   
  
smiled slightly. "I see you're caught in a bit of a…rub, younger   
  
brother?" Inuyasha snorted. Everyone's jaw dropped as they first   
  
looked at one, and then the other youkai.   
  
"Give Hojo back!" Kagome yelled, with little authority.   
  
Sesshoumaru looked a bit bemused but paid little heed to her.   
  
"Listen carefully. You must take Tetsusaiga out of the protected   
  
shrine and give it to Inuyasha. Bring the Jewel with you through   
  
my territory to the west and come to my castle. You grew up there,   
  
half-brother," he looked pointedly in the hanyou's direction " you   
  
should know the way." With that, the beautiful demon flew off into   
  
the distance.  
  
Kagome and everyone else slowly turned their gazes to the   
  
hanyou attached to the tree.   
  
"Wha-at?" he whined.  
  
"Was that really your brother?" Kagome asked slowly. She looked   
  
slightly…disturbed.  
  
"Hmph," Inuyasha grunted "half-brother thank you very much." Kaede   
  
stepped toward Inuyasha with a thoughtful expression.   
  
"Inuyasha, when was the last time ye remember seeing my sister?"   
  
Kaede inquired.  
  
"What are we standing around for, exactly? We need to go find   
  
Hojo!" Kagome yelled exasperatedly.  
  
"Kagome," Kaede said kindly "we must clear things up between us   
  
and Inuyasha; because we cannot get Hojo back without him."  
  
"We'll see if I help you, old hag." Inuyasha growled.   
  
"So," Kaede turned back to Inuyasha "When do ye last remember   
  
seeing my sister, what happened?"  
  
"Why would I tell you?" He pouted.  
  
"Because." Kagome ran up to him and twisted the arrow again in his   
  
gut.  
  
"Stop, bitch!" he yelped.  
  
"That's why." She said with a satisfied smirk. Ah, how she liked   
  
being right.  
  
"Okay, okay! Fine, shit, you guys really need to take some serious   
  
chill pills." Everyone looked around, no one had the slightest   
  
idea what he meant by that, but they decided not to say anything.  
  
"Well, I had been dating Kikyou for some time and we had finally   
  
decided to marry. That's when she told me about Onigumo. You know,   
  
the burnt guy she was looking after in the cave. I didn't like the   
  
idea that she was looking after a guy in a secluded cave. How was   
  
I supposed to know that he was burnt so crispy that he couldn't   
  
even move?"  
  
"So I decide to visit him on my own devices, without   
  
Kikyou." Inuyasha continued "As I walked up to the cave I heard   
  
him talking to someone, so I listened in. He was talking to a   
  
whole horde of demons! He was talking about how much he loved my   
  
Kikyou and I just couldn't stand it. When he asked the demons to   
  
devour his flesh so that he could have Kikyou, I knew there was   
  
going to be trouble. I drew Tetsusaiga and killed all of the   
  
demons before they had a chance to infest Onigumo. He cursed me   
  
and I turned around after I had finished off the demons and killed   
  
him. Just then Kikyou showed up. I tried to explain, but she   
  
wouldn't hear of it. I told her she should listen to me if we were   
  
to be married. She told me that I should have a little more   
  
compassion for the injured and helpless if I was to marry a   
  
Priestess. We fought and fought about everything under the sun.   
  
That was the day that we were going to announce the engagement to   
  
the village. In the midst of the fight I threw Tetsusaiga down to   
  
emphasize my point of how much of a bitch she was being. I jumped   
  
through the well to take a break for a few days. Finally after ten   
  
days I came back, and here I am." Inuyasha finished his speech and   
  
everyone looked majorly confused, even him. "So, what happened   
  
while I was gone?"  
  
"Well," Kaede sucked in a breath "Ye has been gone for 40 years,   
  
Inuyasha" Inuyasha looked stunned "Kikyou came back to us, holding   
  
Tetsusaiga, a bit angry. She promptly made a shrine for it that   
  
shielded it from demons sensing it, or being able to see it. She   
  
feared that the village would be in danger of attack without ye   
  
being there to defend it. Eventually, in about seven years, we   
  
figured that ye were not coming back. So she married a man from   
  
the Village named Anno and continued to protect the jewel until   
  
she had her first daughter three years later. She also had a son   
  
named Taka who fathered Hojo with a girl named Yui. Rei married   
  
Cheriko at fourteen and had a baby girl at fifteen. That baby girl   
  
looked surprisingly like her grandmother Kikyou and the two   
  
developed a special bond." Kaede paused for a moment, before she   
  
started in on the bloody part of her tale. "When Kagome was ten   
  
years old, five years ago, a white haired dog-demon came,   
  
demanding the Tetsusaiga and tearing the Village apart. He didn't   
  
kill everyone, everyone here was spared; but Kikyou, Anno,   
  
Cheriko, Taka, Rei, Yui, and others from the town perished. I had   
  
to collect the Jewel from Rei and give it to Kagome. Kikyou and   
  
Kagome had made a special pouch to put it in that shielded it from   
  
being seen or sensed by demons. Tetsusaiga was never discovered,   
  
and I have been raising Kagome and Hojo ever since. Hojo became   
  
very interested in Kagome's safety after that attack of the   
  
village and appointed himself her protector. We also acquired some   
  
other protectors from other villages such as a monk named Miroku,   
  
a demon slayer named Sango, and this wolf demon named Kouga. We   
  
always just assumed that ye ran off, became full youkai somehow,   
  
and came back to seek your revenge because Kikyou wouldn't give ye   
  
the Jewel." Kaede shrugged "Now I just assume that ye's brother   
  
attacked the town looking for ye father's sword.   
  
Everyone looked around, a bit confused. Kagome looked   
  
first from Inuyasha to Kaede, then back to Inuyasha. Her eyes   
  
settled on him and a look of pity flashed over her face when   
  
Inuyasha's expression turned from annoyance to realization, then   
  
to sorrow.   
  
"Get me off this damn tree" he said slowly his voice shook   
  
slightly but no one really noticed but Kaede. Kagome's face   
  
changed to controlled annoyance.  
  
"Alright, we need your help anyway and I take it you want revenge   
  
against your brother as much as he wants your sword from you; but   
  
he wants the Jewel too. So this is what I propose." Kagome stepped   
  
forward and looked the hanyou in his slightly swollen amber eyes   
  
"You protect me and a few comrades from the village on our way to   
  
save Hojo. In return, we will return Tetsusaiga to you from the   
  
protected shrine. We must save Hojo and the Jewel, so…"  
  
"What?!" Everyone else yelled.  
  
"What?" Kagome asked sheepishly.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha demanded.  
  
"Okay, so I had Hojo watch the Jewel while I took a little bath   
  
and forgot to ask for it back. It's in the pouch so Sesshoumaru   
  
won't find it, hopefully…" she trailed off.  
  
"We have little time, will ye help or not?" Kaede asked. "Because   
  
ye can't defeat him without the Jewel or the Tetsusaiga, and ye   
  
cannot get off that tree without Kagome pulling it out. Even if ye   
  
did get off the tree, ye couldn't find the Tetsusaiga anyway,   
  
since the shrine is still protected. If Sesshoumaru finds the   
  
jewel and takes of it, he will be unstoppable to any other demon;   
  
even ye, Inuyasha." Kaede looked plainly at him "It would be in   
  
ye's best interests to join forces with us."  
  
(A/n: Dun-dun-dun-daaaaaaa! What will he say? Tune in in a coupl'a   
  
hours or days or whatever to find out! If you're still confused,   
  
tell me in your review and I'll try to clear it up, because all of   
  
you are going to review right? Hello? Where'd everybody go???)  
  
*Mwah *  
  
Mumu 


	3. Sitting on Monkeys

Disclaimer: I have better things to do with my time than steal   
  
other people's stories; like shave my legs, draw fake tattoos on   
  
me with a sharpie, and um ya, well, uhhh… The point is, is I don't   
  
own him so don't sue me! More fic, c'min' at'cha!  
  
Sitting on Monkeys   
  
"Alright, woman, I'll do it. But don't you think that I won't try   
  
and steal the Jewel afterwards."   
  
"Granted." Kaede conceded to everyone's surprise.  
  
"What…?" Kagome raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
"Trust me, dear, have I ever steered ye wrong?" Kagome thought   
  
back and, for the life of her, couldn't remember a single instance   
  
where the woman had done or said a thing wrong. That's Kaede for   
  
you. Maybe she should have been the Priestess…   
  
"So ye agrees?" she asked once more.  
  
"Yes!" he said a little exasperatedly. With that, Kaede picked   
  
some rosary beads out of her pocket and placed them around   
  
Inuyasha's neck. She turned to Kagome, "Say a spell and ye will   
  
have minimal control over this hanyou. Try it out when ye free   
  
him, but don't do it too excessively, alright?"  
  
"Sure, I can handle that." Kagome said confidently.  
  
"Oh, no…" Inuyasha groaned. These Priestess chicks were pretty   
  
rough (A/n: remember, he is from our time this time). Kagome   
  
beamed.  
  
"Oh, no…" Kaede echoed, she could see what was coming.  
  
"Sit!!!" Kagome yelled; before she had taken out the arrow.  
  
"AAAAAHHHH!" Inuyasha yelped as the arrow dragged it's way up his   
  
torso as some invisible force pulled him closer to the ground.   
  
Kagome looked pleased.  
  
"Okay, we can go now." she chirped.   
  
"Bitch!" he yelled as Kagome pulled the arrow out of his torso and   
  
he fell to the ground in a heap. She merely turned and started   
  
walking off to the secret shrine which held Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha   
  
got up, rather perturbed, and followed.   
  
"We will go get Miroku and Sango from the village and meet ye back   
  
here." Kaede called after Kagome.  
  
"Come on." She told Kouga and they headed off to the Village.   
  
Kouga groaned.  
  
"Why do we have to get Sango and Miroku? I could protect her fine   
  
on my own, even without Inuyasha!"  
  
"Yeah, if ye did not run off all the time I would have half a mind   
  
to do so!" Kaede responded.  
  
"Oh, fine" Kouga resigned, knowing when he was beat. But this   
  
Inuyasha character better not hurt his woman in any way. Kouga's   
  
eyes narrowed. Or he was going to get it.   
  
"Here" Kagome gestured to a hill.   
  
"What? I don't see anything." Inuyasha examined the hillside.   
  
Nope, definitely nothing there.  
  
"Of course you don't, you're a demon." Kagome said as she suddenly   
  
pulled a scroll out of thin air. Actually, she had pulled it off   
  
the door.   
  
"Hmmm…" Inuyasha grunted as a wooden shack materialized before his   
  
eyes. Okay…  
  
"Follow me." Kagome commanded. Inuyasha grumbled but obeyed.   
  
Inside the shack there was a small shrine dedicated to the   
  
Tetsusaiga. It had a scroll written by Kikyou about Inuyasha, how   
  
they had gotten the sword together from his eye, and her hopes   
  
that he would return for it. Inuyasha looked away; there was no   
  
use in getting mushy now, she was gone. He looked at Kagome as she   
  
picked the sword up off of its shelf.   
  
"Hey! Don't touch that!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome looked at him and   
  
smiled slightly.   
  
"Okay…" she said. Oh this was going to be rich. She set the sword   
  
back down on its shelf and stepped aside. "After you, Inu-san" she   
  
bowed. Kagome had to bite her tongue to keep from bursting out   
  
laughing.   
  
"Thank you." Inuyasha said. This was a bit suspicious but he   
  
didn't really care. He didn't want that wench touching his stuff.   
  
"OUCH!!!" he yelped as his whole body convulsed with energy. He   
  
slammed back against the wall of the shack and almost blew a hole   
  
in it. Kagome picked up the sword and the scroll underneath it.   
  
She giggled.  
  
"It's a scroll used to protect the sword, just in case some pesky   
  
demons actually made their way in here…" she giggled again.   
  
'Damn she is so annoying.' Inuyasha thought. "You know, you're   
  
nothing like Kikyou. She was much more sophisticated, collected,   
  
and-hey! Where are you going?" Kagome had already started heading   
  
out the door and looked back at him with one eye.   
  
"You're right, I'm nothing like Kikyou. But you're nothing like   
  
the man Kikyou spoke of either. So let's just go, okay?" Kagome   
  
started back out the door. Inuyasha was speechless.   
  
'Kikyou talked well of me to her grandchildren?' he thought,   
  
amazed. 'Well I guess I fucked that up' he shrugged and got up to   
  
follow Kagome.  
  
Kaede and Kouga walked through the village looking for   
  
Sango and Miroku. The finally found them. They were running   
  
through the streets; or, more precisely, Miroku was running from   
  
Sango who had her boomerang already flying after the definitely   
  
freaked out monk.   
  
"Throw a scroll at that PERV!" Sango yelled after him as she   
  
cackled. Kaede and Kouga exchanged disturbed looks.  
  
"Aw, shit." Miroku ground his teeth as his face met the dirt. He   
  
had barely managed to dodge the boomerang. He was one lucky monk.   
  
"Allow me to apologize my dear lady." Miroku smiled.  
  
"Your dear nothin' monk," Sango stuck her nose in the air "you'll   
  
pay. Nahahaha…" She laughed maniacally. (A/n: I really do like   
  
Sango, I promise! And Miroku, too.)   
  
"Enough of this, ye two can do this later. Now, both of ye come   
  
here." Kaede filled the strange pair in on the situation.  
  
"Hmmm…" Sango mused. "Okay, we'll help. Uh, is it just me, or does   
  
Kouga have a red fluffy fox tail?" a sheepish smile appeared on   
  
Kouga's face as he turned into Shippo. Kaede rolled her eyes (A/n:   
  
no kidding…)   
  
"Can't I go? Oh please Kaede-san, please!" he looked up at her   
  
with his best moony-eyes. Everyone else rolled their own.  
  
"Oh, I guess that would be alright." Kaede sighed. At least she   
  
wouldn't have to take care of him for a while. "Okay guys, let's   
  
go meet up with Kagome and Inuyasha!" Miroku started walking and   
  
then stopped. Um, where exactly did they go?" he asked, looking at   
  
Kaede.  
  
" They went to collect the Tetsusaiga from Kikyou's shrine." Kaede   
  
started walking the other direction and Miroku hurried to catch   
  
up.   
  
"Wait, so you're telling me that you left Kagome with Inuyasha and   
  
then sent them to get the Tetsusaiga?" Sango asked in disbelief.   
  
"How do you know that you can trust him?" Kaede smiled.   
  
"Oh, ye just knows these things in ye's old age sometimes, dear."   
  
Kaede loved pissing young people off sometimes, just to see them   
  
tick. Nhahahaa…   
  
"The shrine is this way." Kaede directed. They spotted Inuyasha   
  
and Kagome just over the next hill and met up with the disgruntled   
  
duo. Kaede guessed that they where already starting to get under   
  
each other's skin.   
  
"No, I do not have the same scary strong powers as Kikyou did when   
  
you knew her, but I am also younger, so get off my back!" Kagome   
  
yelled.   
  
"Well, I was just saying that we wouldn't be in this mess if you   
  
just had a sharper eye…"   
  
"You don't seem to have figured out how to kill your brother yet   
  
either, so shut your big mouth you half-blooded hanyou!"   
  
"Nobody calls m-!" Inuyasha started to say.  
  
"That is quite sufficient for now." Kaede interrupted calmly.   
  
"This group better be on its way, before Sesshoumaru discovers the   
  
Jewel of Four Souls on Hojo! Ye must be quick about this. Take the   
  
western route and this money. Be gone with you!" Kaede dropped a   
  
small money bag in Kagome's hand and walked back toward the   
  
village.   
  
"Okay, let's get going." Kagome said stiffly and gave Inuyasha a   
  
cold glance, which he chose to ignore. Miroku grabbed for Sango's   
  
butt and ended up with a face full of fist before he could really   
  
grab… Shippo sighed. This was going to be an interesting trip.  
  
(A/n: Okay, I promise it will be a romance! Just give me a little   
  
time. Review please and I might be more inclined to write   
  
faster…hmmm… Anywho, um, tell me if anything is horribly wrong!   
  
Like my speelinng or sumthing…)   
  
*Mwah*  
  
Love,  
  
Mumu 


	4. Thing one and Thing two

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any other Things!  
  
Thing one and Thing Two  
  
The first night was dark and still. Inuyasha was spending it in a   
  
tree, as usual and Kagome couldn't sleep. She was excited about   
  
starting out on a new adventure and just couldn't will her mind to   
  
stop buzzing with excitement. She was also a little anxious about   
  
Hojo and the Jewel. Kagome looked up above her head and saw amber   
  
eyes shining in the night on a branch above her. 'Yup' she thought   
  
'idiot's awake.' She smiled. Teasing him was quite fun, and she   
  
couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow still connected to   
  
Kikyou. She didn't particularly want to steal her grandmother's   
  
man and she sure didn't want to just be around to fill anyone   
  
else's shoes, either. 'What am I thinking?' Kagome scolded   
  
herself. 'He wouldn't think of me like that! Not in a million   
  
years! Not even in forty… Oh, HELL what am I even thinking! I'll   
  
bet my brain's sleep deprived, yeah, that's it…' Kagome took one   
  
last look at the amber eyes staring alertly into the darkness from   
  
the tree above her before drifting off into a dreamless sleep…  
  
"GoooooDD MORNING Kagome!" Sango stared at the Priestesses   
  
eyes an inch away until they snapped open and Kagome shrieked in   
  
fright. Sango and Miroku were rolling and holding their stomachs   
  
when Kagome backed up so hard into the tree behind her that;   
  
Inuyasha, who was still asleep, fell out and landed on top of   
  
Kagome. Kagome was so shocked that she didn't know what to say.   
  
Inuyasha was lying on top of her and looked very pissed off. He   
  
quickly jumped off of her and brushed the dirt off of his kimono.   
  
"What was that for?" He growled at Kagome.  
  
"Hey, don't blame me this time. It was Sango and Miroku's bright   
  
idea to scare me awake this morning." Kagome gave the giggling duo   
  
a glowering stare for a moment or two before hobbling off to use   
  
the restroom in a more private place.   
  
"Where are you going, little missy?" Inuyasha asked, a little   
  
disgruntled.  
  
"To use the little Priestess's room, nosey." Kagome sniffed,   
  
before hobbling out of sight. Inuyasha sighed.   
  
"Damn, why does that chick hate me so much?" he asked Sango and   
  
Miroku. They assumed that he meant Kagome.  
  
"Maybe it's because she has lived with the incorrect knowledge,   
  
but more importantly, acceptance of your identity being that of   
  
the murderer of the majority of her family." Miroku suggested.   
  
Sango hit him.  
  
"Talk normally, Monk." She snipped. Inuyasha looked at them both   
  
and shook his head.   
  
"And why again, am I asking you two?" They blinked and stared at   
  
him. He sighed. Luckily, Kagome had just returned and seemed in a   
  
little better mood. Hmmm, wonder why…  
  
"Hey, Sango! Maybe we could get something to eat when we get to   
  
the next town in an hour or so, huh? Doesn't that sound good? I'm   
  
hungry! Hey, is everybody up? Shippou!" she tapped the sleeping   
  
ball of fur that was nestled in a bundle of leaves. It stirred and   
  
sprang to life.  
  
"Whaaaa?" Shippou yelped. He stood there for a second, then rubbed   
  
the sleep out of his eyes and jumped into Kagome's arms.   
  
"Ne-chan!" he yelled affectionately as he rubbed against Kagome.   
  
She giggled.  
  
"Okay, okay, we'd better get going. I'll hold you if you'd like,   
  
Shippou." Kagome asked the creature in her arms who nodded   
  
vigorously.  
  
'Spoiled brat' Inuyasha observed, however impolitely. They walked   
  
for quite some time, only stopping for a quick brunch at a village   
  
along the way. Kouga dropped by once, but left quickly. Inuyasha   
  
was in a huff about being called "dog-turd."  
  
"If that bastard has the nerve to say that to me one more time, I   
  
swear I'll-!" Inuyasha seethed.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kagome interrupted him. "Don't threaten   
  
Kouga when he's not here, it won't do any good." Kagome advised.   
  
Inuyasha looked at her like she was stupid. Kagome looked   
  
defensively up at him "Hey, you don't have to look at me like I'm   
  
a duck or something, I was just saying that maybe we should talk   
  
about something else. Like, maybe my grandmother, if it's not too   
  
painful for you." She suggested smiling. She knew that that was a   
  
good choice of words. 'Nothing is ever too painful for a demon   
  
like Inuyasha.' She thought wryly. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were   
  
all talking up about ten paces ahead of them. They were left to   
  
their own devices for awhile because the trail had gotten   
  
narrower. Inuyasha sighed. In truth, it was pretty painful to talk   
  
about it. He had fallen asleep at dawn on the first day because he   
  
couldn't stop thinking about Kikyou. He had stared at Kagome all   
  
night long, thinking about how much of Kikyou he sees in her, and   
  
how much he doesn't see. He couldn't decide whether he hated this   
  
loud-mouthed little girl or not.  
  
"Why would it be too painful, woman?" He asked, sticking his nose   
  
up slightly in the air. Kagome saw the gesture and smiled.  
  
"For the same reason I shot you with the arrow" she smirked.   
  
'Okay, fair enough." He thought.  
  
"Do you hate me?" She asked him plainly. Kagome kept her gaze   
  
fixated on her sandals as they continued to walk, ever west.   
  
"Why would I hate you?" He evaded.   
  
"Why don't we see how this trip goes and we'll see how you and I   
  
turn out thinking about each other." Kagome suggested before she   
  
could stop herself. Inuyasha half-smiled down at her and then   
  
winced. Kagome frowned and almost ran up to a tree to beat her   
  
head in with it. 'Dumb Kagome, dumb Kagome, dumb, dumb, dumb!   
  
Change the subject, quick!'   
  
"Look at those weirdoes" she half laughed as she gestured towards   
  
Sango and Miroku, who were scuffling about something and had   
  
managed to squash Shippou between them; which was probably their   
  
plan in the first place. Inuyasha laughed and Kagome winced. Damn   
  
did he have a good laugh.  
  
-  
  
-  
  
-  
  
;^_^  
  
-  
  
-  
  
-  
  
A couple of days had passed and the group still continued farther   
  
and farther west.   
  
"Where's Kouga?" Sango asked Kagome who stiffened up at the   
  
mention of her boyfriends name.  
  
"I don't know, and I don't know how much I really care as of the   
  
late." Kagome said breezily, trying to act collected about the   
  
decision she had come to the night before.  
  
"Oh, and why not, may I ask?" Kagome's best girlfriend asked.  
  
"Because…" Kagome answered Sango "I've decided that I don't love   
  
him. I know he'll ask me to be his wife sometime soon and I just   
  
could never picture myself doing that with him."  
  
"Doing what?" Sango asked with a raised eyebrow. Kagome punched   
  
her shoulder playfully.   
  
"Living out the rest of my life with him. I've been with him for a   
  
year now and I just can't do it anymore." Kagome sighed. "I love   
  
him more as a friend now, and I'm not really anxious to break the   
  
news to him; he won't be happy."  
  
"You got that right girl. Hey, cheer up," Sango tapped her chin   
  
with her thumb "at least you're doing the right thing for you and   
  
not staying with someone you don't care about like that; and   
  
you're not leading someone you care about on. That's a very mature   
  
decision, Kagome, you should be proud. You're growing up more   
  
everyday."  
  
"Thanks, Sango." Kagome felt better about the whole thing with   
  
Sango's moral support. She always did.   
  
"We must at least be getting closer to the territory." Miroku   
  
commented.  
  
"Surely" Shippou concurred.  
  
"It sure doesn't feel like it." Kagome said gloomily.   
  
"I'm sure I've seen that same damn tree three times today!"   
  
Inuyasha whined.   
  
"I think you might actually be right." Sango suddenly said.   
  
Everyone stopped walking and looked at her. "Well, I got that   
  
feeling like maybe we were going in circles yesterday, so I marked   
  
a big oak tree with three branches coming from the stump with my   
  
initials and watched the sun. Since we always headed directly   
  
west, I didn't even think to look for my tree, but here it is."   
  
Sango pointed, her brows furrowed in deep thought.  
  
"What the hell makes it your tree?" Inuyasha asked needlessly.   
  
Everyone just kinda looked at him for a second and decided to   
  
ignore him.   
  
"What do you think could do this?" Kagome asked Miroku and Sango.   
  
They thought hard for a minute before deciding upon two things.   
  
Thing one would be a sun god, which would be very un-likely. And   
  
Thing two would be a demon, but no one knew exactly what kind.   
  
"Would you like to play with Thing one and Thing two?" Inuyasha   
  
mumbled "The Cat in the Hat" to himself and laughed silently at   
  
the befuddled group.  
  
"Yeah," Kagome's eyes suddenly lit up "I haven't seen Kouga since   
  
the second day we were walking, we must not be on the right track   
  
then." Kagome said triumphantly.   
  
"A little late there, Priestess." Inuyasha teased.   
  
"Well so-rry. I didn't mean to interfere with any intra-personal   
  
conversation you were having with yourself of late, since your   
  
social abilities suck." Shot Kagome  
  
"Aww, that one hurt Kagome, give me another one and maybe you'll   
  
freeze my ass off before you die of lack of oxygen." Inuyasha   
  
snipped.  
  
"Okay, children, that's quite enough." Shippou preached from his   
  
soapbox on Kagome's shoulder before she knocked him off and   
  
continued squabbling with the hanyou.   
  
"That IS enough you two." Sango chided, "we need to figure this   
  
out here before Hojo winds up as your brothers after-dinner cake   
  
and ends up eating the Jewel." She was right, they needed to   
  
think.  
  
"Okay you guys, do you see anything that definitely does not look   
  
forest-y to you, or looks like it's effecting our view of the   
  
sun?" Miroku asked. Everyone looked around for a minute. Inuyasha   
  
looked up and smirked.   
  
"There's our demon" he jumped up to into Sango's tree and slashed   
  
at the sky with his claws. It ripped open and brilliant shades of   
  
purple and red poured out from the open wound that made the sky   
  
all around them ripple and become distorted…  
  
  
  
(A/n: I'm making my chapters a little longer for two reasons.   
  
Thing one is because I think I'm actually starting to get a feel   
  
for this story line. And Thing two is because ff.net is now being   
  
nice and letting me upload my story! Now, since you like playing   
  
with Thing one and Thing two, you're now going to Review! Right?   
  
Please! It's the Cat and the Hat! How can you get any better   
  
mental image than Inuyasha in one of those sexy things? Okay,   
  
Sesshoumaru is better in anything, so sue me…)  
  
*Mwah *   
  
Love,  
  
mumu 


	5. Naosu Kokan

Disclaimer: I still don't own "The Cat and the Hat" or Inuyasha. I'm   
  
a minor, so I don't think I can really technically own anything yet,   
  
or likewise be sued! Cool! So instead of just saying I own Inuyasha,   
  
I can say I own… Rumiko herself! Bwahahaha! Now she can write all of   
  
my fics for me! Okay, just kidding…whatever. On with the fic   
  
containing characters that I don't own! Yay.  
  
(A/n: Key at bottom for the literal translations of the spells that   
  
Miroku and Kagome use! Thanks!"  
  
Naosu Kokan  
  
The sky rippled above their heads and the barriers of the demon soon   
  
became apparent to reach over a diameter of about a quarter of a   
  
mile.  
  
"That is one big-assed demon" Sango commented before taking out her   
  
boomerang and transforming from  
  
a beautiful woman into a deadly demon slayer.  
  
"Kirara!" Sango yelled and she leapt aboard her also transformed   
  
kitten. Miroku and Kagome weren't going to just sit back and watch,   
  
no sir, these two mere mortals each possessed more than mere mortal   
  
powers. Which was always definitely helpful in a demonic fight.   
  
"Ofuda!" Miroku yelled as he slipped out a demon-fighting scroll from   
  
his leather pouch and threw it at the demon. At the same time Kagome   
  
drew back an arrow and aimed high at the sky. All three weapons:   
  
Sango's boomerang, Miroku's scroll, and Kagome's blessed arrow all   
  
hit the sky at once. The sky shattered, like it was metal hitting   
  
glass; leaving the core of the demon, hanging suspended in the sky   
  
above them. It appeared like the sun, but became darker in its   
  
angered state. The rays from the sun licked angrily and sizzled the   
  
air around it. The rays became more and more visible and less and   
  
less like the real sun's that was just peaking over the horizon   
  
behind the demon.  
  
"DON'T BOTHER WITH THE SKY," the demon laughed softly "IT'S ONLY AN   
  
ILLUSION OF MINE. THE REAL FIGHT, YOU HAVE WITH ME."   
  
"Demon! What business do you have leading us off of our path?" Kagome   
  
asked "I mean, what the heck do you have against us, or where we're   
  
going?"  
  
"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!" he yelled, and threw himself at   
  
Inuyasha!  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled in warning. Inuyasha looked up (from   
  
probably looking at Sango and Kirara, he'd never seen a woman fight   
  
like that before.) just in time to barely dodge the demon. His hair   
  
sizzled and scorched at the ends and the smell of burnt hair filled   
  
his nose. Inuyasha jumped at the demon and swiped with his claws, but   
  
it was like a ball of fire. The flesh around his claws and all over   
  
his hand began to melt, sizzle and char.   
  
"Huh?" He looked at his hand in confusion. This hadn't seemed like a   
  
particularly strong demon, but impossible to hit.   
  
"Inuyasha, you dumbass," Kagome yelled "use Tetsusaiga!"   
  
"Oh yeah…" Inuyasha blushed slightly and drew his sword. "Burn this,   
  
bastard!" He yelled as he caught the wind on the blade and swung the   
  
sword as hard as he could. The cutting wind passed through the top   
  
half of the gaseous demon and it belched out a hardy laugh.  
  
"IF YOU'RE CLAWS DIDN'T WORK EITHER, HANYOU, WHY DID YOU THINK THAT   
  
YOU'RE RUSTED SWORD WOULD DO ANY BETTER?" the demon laughed again.  
  
"Oh no…" Kagome said, feeling helpless. What were they supposed to   
  
do? She didn't know, but there was no way she was going to sit around   
  
and watch Inu get burnt to a crisp! "Shinsei Makimono!" Kagome yelled   
  
as she jumped through the air and hurled the 'sacred scroll' at the   
  
opposing demon. The scroll flew in its direction, but the demon   
  
dodged it easily. "Damn," Kagome cursed, "I was too far away!" But   
  
now she had found the demon's weakness! "Shippou! Become a bush and   
  
hide me until we get closer to the demon!" Kagome grabbed the kitsune   
  
and pleaded. "The kitsune complied and they crept towards the demon.   
  
It was a good thing no one else seemed to notice…  
  
"Okay! Let's fight fire with fire! Kirara!" Kirara let out a roar and   
  
shot flame at the sun demon from her mouth. The demon just laughed   
  
and absorbed the flames. "Dammit!" Sango yelled in frustration.   
  
Wasn't there anything that was going to kill this demon? Meanwhile,   
  
Inuyasha kept on at trying to cut it to pieces with his Tetsusaiga.   
  
It wasn't working.  
  
"Take that, bitch!" obviously he wasn't sure whether this thing was a   
  
boy or a girl. All he knew was that it was pissing him off.   
  
"ALL RIGHT, I THINK WE'VE HAD ENOUGH PLAY TIME. NOW IT'S TIME TO   
  
FIGHT." The sun belched out. Suddenly, one of the rays of sun   
  
extended and formed into a flaming sword, but without a handle. Its   
  
base just melted into the other rays. It shot out and pierced   
  
Inuyasha in the chest. Inuyasha could hear it rip first his kimono,   
  
then his skin. The bone of his sternum made two sickening cracks as   
  
the sharp fire shot through his chest. Once through, the sword   
  
started to sizzle his skin and lung; the blood stopped flowing so   
  
freely down his kimono as suddenly as it started. Inuyasha looked   
  
down at it dumbly. Nothing had ever done something like this to him   
  
before…  
  
"It's killing him!" Miroku yelled.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped. She knew what she had to do during this   
  
little distraction, and had already started tying the scroll to one   
  
of her arrows. She pulled back the sword and let it fly: strait   
  
towards the center of the demon. "Please work, please work, please   
  
work…" Kagome prayed. No demon could touch that sacred scroll and   
  
live. Thank god she was a Priestess. The arrow flew through the first   
  
half of the demon, but seemed to get lodged in the second half. The   
  
red gaseous part of the demon seemed to disappear and black ball fell   
  
out from the center and hit the ground about a hundred feet from   
  
Kagome with a thud. Inuyasha fell down to the ground and lay there,   
  
eyes closed.   
  
"Inuyasha!" everyone yelled at once. They all ran up to him and   
  
Kagome and Miroku fell to their knees and started taking off the top   
  
of his Kimono. His breath was slow, haggard, and irregular.   
  
"It looks pretty bad," Miroku stated solemnly "but I learned some   
  
healing from my old monk teacher. Sango, I need you to find the   
  
nearest stream and take us there."  
  
"Right on it!" Sango and Kirara jumped to the sky and were soon out   
  
of site looking for the stream. But Kagome was wasting no time in   
  
healing Inuyasha. She pulled a scroll out of her leather pouch and   
  
laid it on the wound between her hand and his chest. "Naosu kokan"   
  
Kagome closed her eyes and felt the heat travel down her arm.   
  
"What's she doing?" Shippou asked. Miroku looked up from what he was   
  
doing with some nearby healing roots and such to see Kagome start to   
  
glow with a strange aura. Miroku realized what she was doing and   
  
tried to push her away. A great energy threw him back against a tree,   
  
and he decided that it was best for him not to interfere.  
  
"I think she's trying to heal him." Miroku answered solemnly. Shippou   
  
gaped and watched as Kagome started to glow brighter.   
  
Kagome kept her focus on healing. Inuyasha's body become warm under   
  
the scroll; she could feel the wound start to shrink and the blood   
  
start to flow again. The scroll and her hand were quickly covered in   
  
blood. Inuyasha's breaths became more regular and less haggard. Her   
  
own, conversely, became worse as she and the scroll took on part of   
  
Inuyasha's injuries. She gave all of the burning to the scroll and   
  
the scroll incinerated before she could take on even a third of the   
  
other injuries. Her own blood started to seep through her kimono and   
  
she fell on top of Inuyasha. Miroku decided that it was probably safe   
  
now and ran over to help. Kagome and Inuyasha were both only barely   
  
unconscious, so he laid Kagome out flat next to Inuyasha. Sango   
  
returned and told Miroku that there was a stream just north of there.  
  
"How far?" he asked. Sango looked down at the two bleeding people and   
  
said,  
  
"Oh, about a mile. And didn't I leave you with one beaten and   
  
bloodied person? Cause' I see two here buster."  
  
"Oh, just shut up and help me get them on Kirara." Miroku snipped. He   
  
wasn't in the mood. The three healthy people lugged the unconscious   
  
onto Kirara. They started walking north, nobody wanted to talk   
  
because they were worried about Kagome and Inuyasha. After a little   
  
while though, Shippou spoke up.   
  
"Do you think they're going to be alright?" Shippou asked. A worried   
  
look scrunched his face up and his voice squeaked slightly.   
  
"Yeah, they should be up and at 'em in a week or so." Sango tried to   
  
sound cheery about it, but in truth she was very worried about the   
  
Jewel. Would Sesshoumaru have found it by then? There was no way to   
  
tell, but she didn't write off the youkai as any kind of fool,   
  
either.   
  
"I guess we can only hope that Hojo knows to keep his mouth shut for   
  
a very long time." Miroku said darkly. Sango guessed that he had been   
  
thinking along the same lines as she had. Sango laughed.  
  
"He'd do anything to protect the Jewel, you know that Miroku."   
  
"More like protect the Priestess." Miroku laughed.   
  
"I'll bet he's smarter than we give him credit for." Shippou   
  
commented off-handedly. Sango and Miroku looked at him. "Wha-at?" he   
  
whined. Wasn't he allowed to defend Kagome's cousin? Sheesh…  
  
"Don't do that again." Sango said, looking away.  
  
"Yeah," Miroku agreed "you're too young to be that mature about   
  
this."  
  
"Way too young." Sang agreed, looking at Miroku. Miroku looked at her   
  
and smiled, she smiled back.   
  
"You guys are too weird…" the kitsune shook his head. Kirara snorted   
  
her agreement.   
  
"Just one question you guys." Shippou raised an eyebrow.   
  
"What?" Sango looked at him and raised her own.  
  
"If we were walking the wrong way for at least two days," he looked   
  
frustratedly at each of the idiots "then where the hell are we?"  
  
"Shut up." Miroku and Sango said in unison. Damn that kitsune could   
  
get annoying, but where WERE they?  
  
A/n: Dun-dun-dun! Okay, that wasn't really a cliffhanger, so sue me.   
  
Although, as you can see from the top, you can't! Bwahahahahaha!   
  
Any-who, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my reviewers, who were   
  
supportive of my story thus far: Hieis2dreamer for giving my   
  
one-chapter fic a chance and continuing to review and prod me to   
  
write more; Kagomebunny for being nice and reviewing my story to tell   
  
me to write more; for Raku Ozzarian princess for taking the time to   
  
read and review my fic; and narcoleptic shiskabob who helped me with   
  
great long reviews that made me laugh, adding me to her fav. authors   
  
list, and for helping me with other story-related stuff. I couldn't   
  
have even gotten this far w/out you guys! Keep up the good reviews   
  
and I promise I'll finish this one good (I know it's supposed to be   
  
"well" but who really cares?)! I love you guys and e-mail me if you   
  
have any suggestions! Thanks!   
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu   
  
Key  
  
Ofuda: the scroll Miroku uses in the manga  
  
Naosu kokan: "healing exchange"  
  
Shinsei Makimono: Literally translates to "Sacred Scroll" 


	6. Bad Dreams

Disclamer: I still do not own Inuyasha, Rumiko, or Suess,  
  
I have a pet moose,  
  
That when let loose,   
  
Became a masseuse…  
  
Oh yeah, I'm still not Suess!  
  
  
  
  
  
Bad Dreams   
  
Inuyasha's eyes shot open to darkness and the faint sound of   
  
trickling water to his right. He couldn't remember anything about the   
  
end of the encounter with the demon. He stood up quickly and surveyed   
  
the scene around him. Everyone else was asleep, except he couldn't   
  
find Kagome. Inu suddenly heard a snore from his foot area. He looked   
  
down to see what it was, and discovered that it was Kagome. She had   
  
been sleeping not a foot away from him! He snorted and said "Hmmm, I   
  
wonder WHY she's sleeping next to me; maybe she likes me more than   
  
she lets on… and why not? Kikyou liked me…" He looked a little closer   
  
and realized her kimono was hanging up on the tree next to them, and   
  
it had blood-stains on it. He looked down at the sleeping girl and   
  
furrowed his brow in concern. 'I wonder if she's okay…' Inuyasha   
  
thought worriedly. He didn't remember her getting hurt, but he didn't   
  
remember the end of the fight either. Come to think of it, he didn't   
  
really remember how they won at all. All he remembered was when the   
  
sun-demon had stabbed him, he blacked out and dreamt a very strange   
  
dream. It started out with him and Kikyou having just a normal day,   
  
and suddenly Tetsusaiga un-sheathed itself and flew into her sternum.   
  
The moment Kikyou stuck to the tree, Kagome jumped out from behind it   
  
and screamed his name. She pointed an arrow at him and was about to   
  
let go. Inuyasha didn't care, he felt like he deserved it, but right   
  
as she fired the arrow Sesshoumaru came out from behind her. He   
  
grabbed her and drug her off to his castle. All the while, the arrow   
  
was again stuck in his sternum and he couldn't go save her. 'Why do I   
  
want to save her?' he thought, 'I should just want to die here with   
  
Kikyou, but, while a part of my heart goes with Kikyou, it's almost   
  
like I'm not meant to die yet.' He looked down at the arrow, grabbed   
  
it as if to pull it out, then died. That's when he woke up. Now   
  
scared and confused, he decided to pick a tree to go back to sleep   
  
in, he could tell that he hadn't fully recovered yet. When Inuyasha   
  
had found a tree, he tried to leap into it, and smacked right into   
  
the trunk. "What the he…" he mumbled out. He caught sight of his hand   
  
and smacked himself in the head, causing more pain. His claws were   
  
gone. It was his time of the month, no wonder he hadn't recovered   
  
more by now. He knew when he fought that fight with the demon that   
  
his day was three days off. So he had been sleeping for three days?   
  
Damn, that is a long-assed nap… He felt bad that he hadn't been there   
  
to protect Kagome. She probably wouldn't have gotten hurt if he had   
  
been there.   
  
"Why the fuck do I keep thinking about Kagome? She's a Priestess,   
  
goddammit, she should be able to protect herself." He huffed as he   
  
stomped off to find a tree with a lower branch so he could sleep   
  
'till morning…  
  
"So, it's the first day of the month, huh?" Miroku yelled up into the   
  
tree.  
  
"What the fu-" Inuyasha started to say before falling out of his low   
  
tree-branch. "How the hell do you know that, Houshi?" Inuyasha   
  
sniffed.  
  
"Because we saw you transform last night while you were still   
  
sleeping." Sango answered, walking up from behind Miroku.   
  
"Well you bastards better keep your mouths shut, or I might just have   
  
to kill you…" Inu started to say before Miroku cut him off.  
  
"Right, anyway, we've been trying to find out where we actually are   
  
for the past three days you've been asleep, and we've finally been   
  
able to pinpoint our location."  
  
"Which is…?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"On the east side of Kaede's village" Miroku sighed. Every one looked   
  
down at their feet. This was no good.   
  
"Inuyasha!" Kagome's eyes flew open and she screamed. She was   
  
sweating and her hair and blankets were sticking to her as her eyes   
  
widened with horror. Inuyasha was beside her in a flash.  
  
"Kagome, shhh, shhh, it's okay, it's all gonna be okay…" he petted   
  
her back as she cried in his arms. Sango and Miroku were dumbfounded,   
  
they didn't understand what was wrong.   
  
"Ummm, Kagome" Sango started to say.  
  
"What, can't you see the girl is crying here?" Inuyasha snorted.  
  
"Well yeah, but," Sango started to say again.  
  
"Maybe we should leave them alone." Miroku said, staring at them with   
  
a suspicious bit of drool snaking its way out of the corner of his   
  
mouth. Sango hit him over the head.  
  
"Lecherous monk." Sango snipped, then turned to Kagome, "Just keep   
  
your damn covers up." Suddenly, Kagome pushed Inuyasha away and   
  
pulled her covers up over her breasts and blushed a scarlet red.   
  
"Uh, thanks, Sango… Kagome stuttered. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.   
  
"As if I noticed." He mumbled to himself. Sango ignored him.   
  
"What's wrong Kagome?" Sango asked her worriedly. There was a reason   
  
that she woke up screaming Inuyasha's name, and she wanted to know   
  
what that reason was.  
  
"I had a bad dream, that's all." Kagome looked down and rearranged   
  
her blankets.  
  
"Not just a normal bad dream would make you yell for Inuyasha."   
  
Miroku stated.  
  
"Well, maybe I don't want to talk about it." Kagome huffed. She   
  
couldn't help the way she felt, but she didn't want everyone to know   
  
it either.   
  
"C'mon, just spill it out already, Kagome." Inuyasha said   
  
impatiently. He was surprised when Kagome turned on him with a red,   
  
and very angry, face.  
  
"I don't have to tell you anything, Inuyasha, and if we're going to   
  
get to your and your brother's place in time, we have to leave right   
  
now. There's no time to waste on my silly little dream!"   
  
"Okay, sheesh, I'll get your kimono. Lord, woman…." Inuyasha   
  
continued to mumble while he fetched her kimono.   
  
"Lordy, Kagome, you really let him have it, huh?" Sango commented   
  
while Miroku also walked off to gather up the stuff.   
  
"Yeah, I guess so." Kagome blushed slightly. Sango looked down at her   
  
knowingly.  
  
"You're starting to fall for him, aren't you?" She gave Kagome a   
  
stern look. Kagome fell over and groaned.  
  
"That jerk, heck no!" Kagome stuttered.  
  
"Uh-hu, yeah, okay, I think it's time to go." Sango looked at her   
  
funny as she handed her her kimono Inuyasha had just handed to her.   
  
"Put this on and let's get going." Sango said. "I'll wake up the   
  
Kitsune."  
  
(A/n: Okay, sorry it took me a while to finish this extremely boring   
  
[yet, necessary] chapter. My computer gipped out on me and I had to   
  
convince the dell computer dude that I really did need a dell. So I   
  
had to get it and set it up before I could continue. I should be   
  
writing more regularly now, as long as my sports don't keep demanding   
  
all of my free time! I love you all and you get a kiss for reading   
  
all of that all the way through!)  
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu (Sorry, there's no capital "M") 


	7. How Kikyou Loved her Hanyou

Disclaimer: Thing one is that I don't own Inuyasha, and Thing two is   
  
that I don't own a cat or his hat…  
  
How Kikyou Loved her Hanyou  
  
They had walked for a day and a half before they even reached Kaede's   
  
village. No one was in a very good mood about losing two weeks off of   
  
their voyage. Kagome especially was annoyed with Inuyasha, who still   
  
didn't know of her sacrifice to save his life.   
  
"You annoying little turd!" Kagome yelled in frustration. He just   
  
didn't know when to quit, did he?  
  
"I'm only saying that that Kouga guy is a weak little wolf that isn't   
  
suitable for protection." Inuyasha reasoned. Lord, this chick doesn't   
  
like to listen to people, does she?   
  
"I think they are gonna fall in lo-ove." Sango, with Shippou on her   
  
shoulder whispered loudly to Miroku who whispered his agreement back.   
  
Inuyasha and Kagome stopped arguing and stared at them. Sango,   
  
Miroku, and Shippou failed to notice and continued whispering and   
  
walking past the village. Kagome sighed and Inuyasha grunted.   
  
"Aren't they just so weird…" Kagome marveled.   
  
"Yeah, they're one's to talk." Inuyasha grumbled.  
  
^  
  
^  
  
^  
  
^_^;  
  
^  
  
^  
  
^  
  
They had been walking for an hour or so past the village when   
  
Inuyasha suddenly grumbled.  
  
"I smell something nasty." Kouga suddenly skidded to a halt in front   
  
of Kagome. "Yup, really nasty." Inuyasha mumbled.  
  
"So, Kagome, why are you guys way back here. I tried to find you a   
  
day after I had left to scout out the path ahead, and couldn't find   
  
you at all. What happened?"  
  
"A demon encounter." Kagome answered stiffly. She wished she didn't   
  
have to do this…  
  
"Are you alright?" Kouga asked worriedly. He really did genuinely   
  
care about her; why couldn't she love him that much? She had been   
  
pondering this for awhile though, and she knew what she had to do,   
  
but she was going to wait until they set up camp to do it. She was   
  
going to at least give him the courtesy of doing it in remote   
  
privacy; especially not in front of Inuyasha…  
  
They set up camp that night and started talking to each other in   
  
little groups and Kagome recognized the golden opportunity with a   
  
sense of dread. She had contracted a feeling like there was a cold   
  
stone churning in the bottom of her stomach. Her mind whizzed with   
  
excuses about why this wasn't the right time; or how she really did   
  
love him, but she knew the truth. That truth was that she just might   
  
have loved Kouga once, but never the same way that she knew Kikyou   
  
loved her hanyou. Kagome walked over to Kouga, who was in an argument   
  
with Inuyasha about something having to do with the rules of arm   
  
wrestling, and pulled him aside.  
  
"Can I talk to you alone over there?" Kagome asked nervously. She   
  
fidgeted with her fingers. Couldn't this just be over already? Kouga   
  
smiled.  
  
"Sure, sweetie." He gave Inuyasha a look and the hanyou glowered.   
  
They walked behind the trees and Kagome sighed. Here was the hard   
  
part…  
  
"Kouga," he looked up expectantly, not to mention painfully for   
  
Kagome "you know I care about you, right?"   
  
"Of course I do, and you know I love you, Kagome." Kouga said,   
  
however counter productively.   
  
"Well, that's what I came to talk to you about. I think we should   
  
break up." Kagome sucked it a breath. So it was out. Kouga just kind   
  
of looked at her and blinked.   
  
"But, you're my woman…" Kouga started to say, but stopped. "Okay, it   
  
that's what you want, Kagome, but I'll always be here for you. We are   
  
still friends, right?" Kouga searched her eyes hopefully. She smiled   
  
a relieved smile.   
  
"Of course we are Kouga-kun, for a lifetime."   
  
^  
  
^  
  
^  
  
^-^  
  
^  
  
^  
  
^  
  
The following morning Kouga said that he would probably be more help   
  
back with babaa-sama's village protecting her and the village.  
  
"Because," he said with a wink at Kagome "that village is a famous   
  
bad-guy hangout for unknown reasons." With that, he was off. Kagome   
  
waved cheerily after him. They had talked most of the night, just   
  
about memories and such, but they had a wonderful time.   
  
"So, did you do it?" Sango asked Kagome in a hushed voice.  
  
"Yeah, but we're still really good friends." Kagome smiled. She   
  
didn't think that it could have gone any better.  
  
"Good," Sango laughed "I think Inu was beginning to think that you   
  
guys were having sex back there." Kagome was shocked. Inuyasha cared?  
  
"Why would he care?" Kagome asked gruffly, in a not very being gruff   
  
sort of way. Sango laughed.  
  
Take a wild guess, child. Cause he's coming this way." Kagome looked   
  
up to witness a very angry Inuyasha huffing his way over to them.   
  
"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered.   
  
(A/n: Kinda short, I know, but that was where it needed to end. Sorry   
  
for the delay on the last couple-a chapters, life and things like it   
  
need much attention sometimes. More chapters are comin' up! This   
  
story ain't near done yet!)  
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu  
  
PS. Candy for reviewers! 


	8. As it Should Be

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or money, so suing would be   
  
pointless.   
  
As it Should Be  
  
The group had been walking for two and a half weeks now, and got   
  
along no better than when they started.   
  
"Get your hand off my ass, dammit!" Sango yelled at Miroku, who had a   
  
satisfied look on his face. Shippou was riding on Kagome's shoulder   
  
and Inuyasha was walking beside them, but not participating in the   
  
conversation. He was deep in thought when a question Shippou asked   
  
Kagome sparked his interest.   
  
"How'd you know what to do to kill that demon? Did you wait for   
  
Inuyasha to get toasted before you got him? Or did that just happen?"   
  
Shippou looked at her expectantly. She fidgeted, knowing that   
  
Inuyasha was within hearing distance.   
  
"Well, it was pretty obvious when he dodged the scroll instead of   
  
burning it to spite me, like he was doing with everyone else."   
  
Shippou nodded. "My arrows weren't easily dodged by him, but didn't   
  
seem to get lodged in there very well, so I tied a scroll to my   
  
arrow. You helped me a lot, Shippou, I would have never gotten that   
  
close if you hadn't of concealed my presence from the youkai." She   
  
tried to divert his attention with the praise.   
  
"But you would have been just fine because Inuyasha had distracted   
  
him by almost dying, so you could've probably gotten close anyway,   
  
right?" Kagome smiled. What's lost is lost.  
  
"Probably, Shippou." She nodded her head. Inuyasha was a bit troubled   
  
by this. He had almost died? Kagome had saved everyone? Maybe she was   
  
tougher than he had thought. Or maybe just lucky… He would like to   
  
think so anyway. How did he recover so fast if he had almost died?   
  
The question that really nagged at his mind wasn't any one of those,   
  
though. His mind flashed back to her bloodied kimono and her scar he   
  
had glimpsed when she pulled her kimono on before they left their   
  
recovery spot by the water. How did she get hurt?  
  
They set up camp that evening and Miroku and Sango were whispering   
  
about something while the kitsune slept in Sango's lap. Kagome had   
  
just started the fire and walked over to sit beside Inuyasha.   
  
"So what did you and Kouga talk about behind the trees for so long   
  
about?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the Priestess who smiled   
  
innocently.   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, when was this?" Kagome   
  
blinked up at him with a vacuous expression playing across her face.   
  
The firelight highlighted her long hair and made her skin appear   
  
almost golden. She looked like an angel with her kimono flowing over   
  
her small frame and onto the log the two had chosen to reside upon.   
  
His heart ached, and he didn't know why.  
  
"You know what I mean," Inuyasha huffed "and don't play stupid. What   
  
did you two talk about?" Kagome wondered whether or not she should   
  
tell him or play with him a bit more. She looked up into his amber   
  
eyes that were made golden by the firelight and his hair held a   
  
silver hew by the pale moonlight and decided to go ahead and tell   
  
him.   
  
"We broke up." Kagome busied herself poking into the fire. She didn't   
  
want him to see her face. The hope and love was just too hard to   
  
hide. In the three weeks she had known him, something had risen up on   
  
the inside that she had never known existed. It felt like she had   
  
come home for the first time, though she had never been farther from   
  
it.  
  
"Kagome," Inuyasha said softy and raised up her chin with a single   
  
finger, he could have sworn that he smelled the salty waft of a tear   
  
escaping her eye "how did you get hurt if you killed the demon while   
  
it was killing me?" Kagome looked down at the ground.  
  
"Naosu Kokan, she said "it's a healing scroll that is a media for   
  
transferring wounds from one person to another. The scroll also takes   
  
on some of the wounds itself."   
  
"Why did you do it?" Inuyasha asked, looking deep into her brown eyes   
  
that watered slightly as she pulled away.  
  
"Because I thought you--were going to die." Kagome got up and started   
  
walking over to the trees. She was about to cry and she didn't want   
  
Inuyasha or anyone else seeing her do it. Miroku and Sango were   
  
pretending not to notice when Kagome left and Inuyasha got up to   
  
follow her. They giggled and whispered loudly.   
  
Kagome had sat down on a rotting log and put her head in her hands.   
  
The tears flowed freely down her cheeks and spotted the ground at her   
  
feet, though still no sobs escaped from her throat. Inuyasha stood   
  
behind her and smelled the tears and heard them drop on the ground.   
  
He spoke softly to her after watching for a little while.  
  
"Kagome, thank you for saving me. I can only hope that I can do the   
  
same for you someday." He put his hand on her back and she turned   
  
around and hugged him. Inuyasha was stunned, but after a moment,   
  
hugged back. This felt so right. He didn't understand why or how he   
  
could fall in love again, but somehow he had. He pushed her back   
  
slightly with is hands and tilted his head down and sideways. When   
  
she looked up to see why he had stopped the embrace, he touched her   
  
lips with his in a soft kiss of a hanyou in love.  
  
  
  
Kagome was in a daze all the next day. Was it just her, or was   
  
everyone getting along a little better?  
  
"Kagome," Shippou asked "why isn't everyone killing each other?"   
  
Kagome sighed.  
  
"Because, we're all tierd. Except you I guess, huh Shippou?" She   
  
mumbled. He was bouncing up and down on her shoulder and she was   
  
dragging her feet on the ground. She and Inuyasha had stayed up last   
  
night talking about just normal stuff. She didn't get much sleep   
  
either. They had both come to the conclusion that one of the reasons   
  
that Miroku and Sango were so weird was that they were trying to get   
  
them to fess up their feelings to one another. Kagome couldn't wait   
  
to tell Sango.   
  
"Why don't you ride on Inuyasha for awhile while I go talk to Sango   
  
for a second, okay?"   
  
"Okay" Shippou chirped. These damn kids didn't realize exactly how   
  
much he knew did they? Oh well, the dumb kid questions yesterday had   
  
gotten these weirdoes to fess up to one another the night before. It   
  
was about goddamn time.  
  
Kagome walked over to Sango and she sent Miroku away to go talk to   
  
Inuyasha.  
  
"Oh, Sango! I'm in love, I admit, you were right. And he kissed me   
  
last night! It was incredible, I never knew love could feel like   
  
this!" Sango looked on appreciatively.   
  
"Yeah, it was obvious to everyone but yourselves. You should thank   
  
Miroku, Shippou, and me for our careful plotting." Sango grinned.  
  
"Shippou?" Kagome asked quizzically.   
  
"Yeah, he came up with most of the plan himself, kind of a wily   
  
little thing isn't he?" Sango smiled fondly at the memory and the   
  
look on Kagome's face.   
  
"I love you girl, and I'm very happy for you."  
  
"Thanks Sango, I never could have done it without you." Kagome could   
  
have never been happier, except that just then she fell down an   
  
enormous hole and barely managed to grab onto a vine about six feet   
  
down. Sango jumped to the side and barely managed to miss it.  
  
"Kirara, go get her!" Sango yelled and Kirara transformed and   
  
retrieved Kagome in an instant. Inuyasha was instantly at her side.  
  
"What the fuck just happened?" he asked angrily. A soft but   
  
unsettling laugh rumbled up from inside the hole. The whole group   
  
tensed. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles.  
  
"You messed with Kagome, so prepare to die, asshole."  
  
"Inuyasha…" Kagome breathed.   
  
(A/n: Wow, I think that was the longest chapter I've ever managed!   
  
Yay… I love romance…Wow… anywho, review because it's nice to review   
  
what you read. Like cows review what they eat because of their   
  
multiple stomachs. And they love it. You should, too. Kisses!)  
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu 


	9. The Kitsune

Disclaimer: I own 3 cows and 16 stomachs, not Inuyasha.   
  
The Kitsune  
  
Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, who looked onto the chuckling hole with   
  
malice. She was surprised to see a youkai that looked like a mole   
  
jump out of the hole and the hole closed up underneath its feet where   
  
it landed. The creature had brown freckled skin with no hair except   
  
for the few atop his head. Its eyes were big and the irises blended   
  
in with the pupils, contrasting strongly to the whites of his eyes.   
  
He squinted those eyes and let out a chuckle.   
  
"Pretty lady you got there, dirty hanyou." The youkai laughed again.   
  
"You should watch her closely, or something might come up between you   
  
two." With that, he was underground and appeared between Inuyasha and   
  
Kagome. Luckily, Sango was quick on the draw and had thrown her   
  
boomerang right where he was to come up. The youkai was back in the   
  
ground as soon as he came up, but so was Kagome.   
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled as he struck the ground with the   
  
Tetsusaiga. He could smell the youkai.  
  
"Damn," Inuyasha cursed "he's moving all over the place! I'm having   
  
trouble smelling the Cutting Wind with all the fucking dirt, too!"   
  
Shippou cried out for Kagome.  
  
"Kagome! Come back!" Shippou yelled. Damn fucking youkai. How dare he   
  
take Kagome? Shippou used his disguise to turn himself into another   
  
Kagome. "Hey! You are one stupid youkai. That one's not the   
  
priestess, I am!" Shippou cried out. The youkai popped up out of the   
  
ground in front of Shippou and changed "girls" before plummeting back   
  
into the earth.   
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha and Sango cried. They rushed over to help her, but   
  
she was unconscious.   
  
"We should save Shippou!" Miroku yelled to the two. "We don't know   
  
how long he can last down there." Miroku said gravely. Inuyasha and   
  
Sango jumped up to help.   
  
"Ofuda!" Miroku slapped the sacred scroll on the ground. Immediately   
  
the mole-youkai jumped out of the ground and let loose a high pitched   
  
scream. Shippou bit its hand and it dropped him. Shippou changed back   
  
into himself when he hit the ground and Sango ran over to tend to   
  
him. Inuyasha laughed.  
  
"Dumb bastard," the youkai looked in Inuyasha's direction "now you   
  
can't even deal with me, Cutting Wind!" he yelled as he cut the place   
  
where the youkai meets the wind. The mole screamed as it was cut   
  
apart by the wind blades and enveloped in its own youkai.   
  
"I failed you, Se…" The youkai said with his dying breath. Inuyasha   
  
shook his head once it plopped onto the ground.  
  
"Dumb bastard." He suddenly remembered Kagome laying unconscious with   
  
Sango and Shippou tending to her. Inuyasha and Miroku ran over to   
  
join the group.  
  
"Is she okay?" Inuyasha asked worriedly.   
  
"Yeah, she'll be just fine. Her air was cut off down there for a   
  
little while, but she should wake up in a couple of hours." Sango   
  
informed them with relief. Inuyasha turned to Shippou and ruffled the   
  
kitsune's hair.  
  
"Thank you, Shippou. What you did was really brave, and probably   
  
saved Kagome's life." Shippou squirmed out from under Inuyasha's   
  
hand.   
  
"It was nothing, really. Um, anyone would of done the same thing,   
  
right? I mean, what else was I… Yeah, let's get going." Shippou said   
  
uncomfortably.   
  
"No, I think Shippou saved the day today." Sango picked him up and   
  
hugged him. She laughed when he tried desperately to squirm from her   
  
grasp. "Hey, Miroku!" Sango giggled "I think Shippou needs a hug from   
  
yo-ou!" She laughed when he struggled harder. Inuyasha rolled his   
  
eyes and put Kagome on his back.   
  
"Okay, children, leave the puppy alone and let's get going." Shippou   
  
gasped for air while Miroku and Sango cracked up laughing. Again the   
  
group was headed west. To a place where Hojo was kept captive and   
  
Sesshoumaru plotted against them.  
  
After walking for a few hours, Kagome finally woke up. Her eyes   
  
opened up and she realized that she was being carried. She instantly   
  
knew by the hair her face was buried into.   
  
"Inuyasha," Kagome mumbled. His heart jumped.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked softly.   
  
"I'm thirsty." Inuyasha slid her carefully off of his back and gave   
  
her a drink out of Sango's leather pouch that she had given him for   
  
when she woke up.   
  
"Thanks, how long have I been out?" She asked drowsily. Inuyasha   
  
smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.  
  
"For about three hours. Shippou practically saved you. He used his   
  
kitsune disguise and acted like he was the real priestess. The demon   
  
got him and left you lying there, any longer and you probably would   
  
have died. I just kind of cut him apart once Miroku drove him out of   
  
the ground and Shippou bit the youkai to make him drop him." Inuyasha   
  
smiled. "Sango was really worried about you there for a second."   
  
"Oh and you weren't?" Kagome asked playfully.  
  
"Of course not." Inuyasha answered with fake nonchalance. They   
  
laughed and Kagome called Shippou over to her.   
  
"You're awake!" Shippou exclaimed as he jumped up onto her shoulder.   
  
Kagome carefully picked him up and hugged him.  
  
"I heard what you did for me Shippou." He kind of squirmed   
  
uncomfortably, but accepted the attention. "I just wanted to say   
  
thank you." Kagome gave him another hug before stetting him back on   
  
her shoulder.  
  
"No problem, anyone would o-"   
  
"I have a question." Inuyasha asked abruptly. Kagome hadn't even   
  
realized his absence from the conversation.  
  
"Okay, what?" Kagome looked at him quizzically.   
  
"Where you the only offspring of Kikyou that resembled her at all?"   
  
Inuyasha looked at her seriously.  
  
"Well, yeah actually. No one else ever looked a thing like us. Why do   
  
you ask?" Kagome furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought.  
  
"Well," Inuyasha sighed "nether did her parents or sister when they   
  
were younger. I'm wondering if it means anything. Probably just   
  
stupid, though, I don't know what exactly it could mean. It's just   
  
kind of weird, you know?" Inuyasha looked down at his feet. Kagome   
  
and Shippou followed suit.   
  
"Yeah, I don't know either." Kagome said evasively. She didn't know   
  
what the heck he was talking about, but he was right: there was   
  
something unsettling about the whole thing. All of a sudden, she   
  
couldn't wait for this whole trip to be over.  
  
(A/n: What's happening? Who knows yet? Nobody! So tune in next time   
  
for more interesting things and a long talk between Inuyasha and   
  
Kagome about the Well! Maybe that'll clear up a few questions.   
  
Hopefully, if my writing goes as planned. Love you all!)  
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu 


	10. Love that Found a Way

(A/n: I would like to thank Tiffy and KukuluAoki for kindly reviewing my fic. It was really encouraging and I dedicate this chapter to you guys! I love you)  
  
Disclaimer: Bite me…  
  
Love that Found a Way  
  
The crew set up for camp that night. Miroku and Sango immediately   
  
fell to sleep, but Inuyasha was part demon so he liked to stay up a   
  
little later. Kagome had taken a nice nap in the middle of the day so   
  
she wasn't ready to go to bed either. The two stayed up and talked   
  
quietly by the fire for awhile. After some normal conversation,   
  
Kagome's curiosity got the better of her.   
  
"Inuyasha, why can only you pass through the well?" He sucked in a   
  
breath. That was a good question.   
  
"Uh, I guess it's because my dad could." Inuyasha furrowed his   
  
eyebrows in concentration. Kagome wondered how his dad could, but   
  
decided to hear Inuyasha out. He sighed "Are you in the mood to hear   
  
a long story?"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere." Kagome smiled at Inuyasha's form flickering   
  
in the firelight. The darkness around them was held at bay by the   
  
light of a small flickering flame that illuminated their personal   
  
world, secluding them from the world enveloped in the night. As   
  
Inuyasha began to tell the story, Kagome found herself being sucked   
  
into the world of Hitomi and Inutaishou. Inuyasha smiled. "This is a   
  
story that my mother told me when I was small." His expression became   
  
wistful and his eyes smiled at the memory before he began his   
  
narrative:  
  
The Lord of the West was betrothed to the lady of the East's   
  
daughter. He was very young, and liked to wander aimlessly around his   
  
territory, mostly helping humans. One day he stumbled upon the well   
  
and happened to be thirsty. He didn't see a bucket to draw water from   
  
the well, so he decided to just jump in, take a drink, and jump back   
  
out. To his surprise, there wasn't any water in the well and jumped   
  
back out. When he jumped back out, to his great surprise, he wasn't   
  
where he started at…  
  
"What the fuck?" a handsome demon asked, looking around with a   
  
befuddled expression creasing his face. He was in an old shrine with   
  
cobwebs littering every corner and crossbeam. He carefully exited and   
  
took in the scenery around him. The only thing he could recognize was   
  
a single tree, and it was much larger than it was when he saw it only   
  
a moment ago.  
  
"Can I help you?" a pretty woman asked curiously. The youkai looked   
  
at her, mildly surprised that he hadn't smelled her a while ago. His   
  
curiosity was only heightened by the strange way in which the girl   
  
was clothed. Though he was curious as to where he was, he didn't feel   
  
threatened; therefore, opted for the friendly approach.   
  
"Yes, what's your name?" they looked at each other for a second   
  
before she spoke.  
  
"Hitomi" she said, looking at the youkai strangely "and you?"  
  
"My name is Inutaishou, I am the demon Lord of the West." The small   
  
woman's laughter rang up through the old tree and rustled the leaves   
  
void of a breeze. Inutaishou was surprised by the reaction and asked   
  
her why she was laughing. She smiled and responded with a chuckle.  
  
"There haven't been demon Lords since the Sengoku Jidai." He smiled   
  
and breathed in the air around him that did smell dramatically   
  
different than that of the air he was used to.   
  
"So I traveled through time, huh?" he questioned the air. Hitomi   
  
tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows.  
  
"You're kidding me, right?" Inutaishou smiled down at the small   
  
woman.  
  
"I wish I were." Hitomi was a small woman, in her mid-twenties, and   
  
she worked at the shrine that the well was owned by. She had jet   
  
black hair that fell down past her cheekbone and angled up in the   
  
back. Her dainty hands with long dark nails accented her slender form   
  
and dark eyelashes rimming brown almond-shaped eyes. There was   
  
something in those almond-shaped eyes that made Inutaishou look   
  
twice. He didn't know what it was, but the demeanor of authority   
  
hanging about this tiny woman intrigued him.   
  
"Well, if you don't have a place to stay, you could stay with me in   
  
my quarters. I just live right here at the shrine." She offered. He   
  
smiled down at her.  
  
"Thank you, that would be wonderful." Hitomi led him by the hand to a   
  
small apartment attached onto a remote corner of the larger   
  
shrine-house.   
  
"Would you like anything to drink?" Hitomi asked politely. Inutaishou   
  
remembered the reason he had jumped in the well in the first place   
  
and accepted the offer.  
  
"So, where did you, uh, travel through time?" Hitomi asked   
  
skeptically, though she was also puzzled by Inutaishou's clothing as   
  
well as his ears.  
  
"I came through a well. I was walking through a break in the forest   
  
and realized that I was thirsty when I spotted a well in the middle   
  
of a clearing. There wasn't a bucket anywhere around so I jumped in.   
  
When I found that there wasn't any water, I jumped back out and I was   
  
in a room that happened to be a small shrine on this property." He   
  
took a sip of his water freshly set before him. "I must say that I am   
  
thoroughly confused. The only conclusion I could come up with was   
  
that the well had some power over time." Hitomi smiled at him as she   
  
took a place across the small grey tabletop from the youkai.   
  
"Where did you come from? I mean, what was life like over there, or   
  
back then, whatever? Where you in love? Why was a powerful Lord   
  
walking through such an unnoted clearing?" Inutaishou was amused at   
  
all of the questions, so he decided to ask one of his own.   
  
"What makes you think that the clearing wasn't in my royal garden?"   
  
He challenged with a raise of an eyebrow. Hitomi noticed that his   
  
eyes were a golden amber color. How beautiful.   
  
"Well, if it had been in your garden then you or somebody else would   
  
have noticed, would they not have?" She questioned sensibly. For some   
  
reason, she couldn't keep her eyes off of his. He nodded his approval   
  
at the quick answer and answered her earlier ones.  
  
"The time I come from is full of oppressed humans at the mercy of   
  
wandering bandits, youkai, and ruthless power-seeking humans. Some   
  
who have power choose to use it correctly, but not many; and no, I   
  
was not in love." He took another sip from the taupe glass that was   
  
fast losing its substance.   
  
"You didn't answer one of my questions." Hitomi took her turn to   
  
raise her eyebrow bordering her pretty almond shaped eyes.   
  
"You're quicker than you first appear to be." Inutaishou sighed.   
  
Hitomi shot him a look.  
  
"As are you, just answer the question, were you in love?"   
  
"I was betrothed to be married in a month's time to the Lady of the   
  
East's daughter." Inutaishou avoided her eyes as he said this.  
  
"But were you in love?" Hitomi persisted gently. Inutaishou looked   
  
directly in the almond shaped eyes that held a fire he had never seen   
  
in any human before, let alone human woman, and answered plainly.  
  
"No," Inutaishou stared into her eyes "I've never felt love before,   
  
until now." Hitomi was a bit taken aback by this, but something about   
  
this youkai struck her intriguing, gentle, and…loving.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The pair spent two months together. Everyday Inutaishou would help   
  
Hitomi with her work. One never got tiered of the other and they grew   
  
to love each other in the time that they spent together. Inutaishou   
  
and Hitomi were cuddling on her couch watching a movie and one of   
  
those charity commercials came on about helping oppressed children.   
  
Hitomi propped up her elbows on Inutaishou's chest and furrowed her   
  
eyebrows. He kissed her quickly on the lips and inquired her intense   
  
expression.  
  
"Well," she looked past him as a tear collected in the corner of her   
  
eye. The beautiful eyes he had come to love so much. "Maybe you   
  
should go back for a while." Inutaishou was shocked by the suggestion   
  
and his face became creased with thought.   
  
"Why?" He questioned seriously. In the short time he had known her,   
  
he had come to respect her thoughts, opinions, and instincts.  
  
"Because I'm not sure if the feudal times can live without you." She   
  
answered seriously.  
  
"What if I can't live without you, Hitomi?" He stroked her hair   
  
affectionately. She laid her head on his chest and started sobbing.  
  
"Nor I you, but you were one of the only decent lords holding   
  
everything together. Go and fulfill your duties and retain your   
  
position of demon Lord, for the good of the people."  
  
"But, I don't want anyone else but you." Inutaishou protested.  
  
"Then come and get me once your duties are fulfilled." Hitomi paused   
  
as she considered her next words. "Take me now and I'll be yours   
  
forever." Inutaishou considered this for a moment, but only a moment,   
  
and made Hitomi his undisputable soul mate for life. Inutaishou went   
  
through the well the next day and made his way back to his castle. It   
  
was deserted as usual, so he made his way to the castle in the East.   
  
When he got there, he was surprised to find that he didn't know   
  
anyone there. He asked where his wife to be was and they asked who he   
  
was. When he told them, they told him that whom he was asking for had   
  
been killed by demons, but he could marry a different daughter for a   
  
belated joining of kingdoms.   
  
'It's only a month late.' He thought, irritated. Inutaishou accepted   
  
anyway and took a youkai female to his castle and protected her and   
  
his new son, Sesshoumaru, for eight long years. Finally, he took   
  
Sesshoumaru and slipped out into the night, leaving his wife with the   
  
intent to return the next day with Hitomi, for he could bear it no   
  
longer. Inutaishou and Sesshoumaru emerged from the well on the other   
  
side by daybreak. Sesshoumaru was protesting and Hitomi heard the   
  
commotion on the other side of the well and ran out to see if it was   
  
her dear Inutaishou. When she saw him and his son standing in front   
  
of the shrine shoe couldn't contain her joy she started weeping.   
  
"I've come to take you away." He whispered in her ear. She hugged him   
  
tightly.  
  
"I knew you would." She smiled up at him as he kissed her deeply. He   
  
took her through the well after having lunch at her place.   
  
Sesshoumaru refused to speak throughout the entire thing and to   
  
Hitomi at any time after that the rest of their lives. When they   
  
returned to the castle that afternoon, Sesshoumaru's mother was gone.   
  
No one really paid much head, except for Sesshoumaru. He usually   
  
chose to stay secluded from the family, especially when the young   
  
hanyou was born out of Hitomi nine months after their return from her   
  
world. Hitomi and Inutaishou's love crossed worlds, time, species,   
  
and life. To this day, when one looks into the other's eyes, they   
  
fall in love all over again.  
  
Inuyasha's narrative died down and they lapsed into silence. Kagome   
  
sighed and leaned into Inuyasha's chest as the fire died. Darkness   
  
enveloped them and they were taken out of the world of Hitomi's and   
  
Inutaishou's love, and brought back to their own.  
  
"That was beautiful." Kagome said looking into Inuyasha's amber   
  
eyes.  
  
"So was my mother." Inuyasha looked down into Kagome's brown eyes as   
  
they closed and she slipped off to dream. Inuyasha fell to sleep   
  
stroking   
  
Kagome's dark hair.Their dreams mingled together in the darkness   
  
as their steady breathing blended in with the rhythmic pulse of the   
  
night.   
  
(A/n: Wow, that one was long! It took me until 5:30 in the morning to   
  
finish this one so you better like it! Make like a cow and review!)  
  
*Mwah*  
  
mumu 


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